Foreshadowing Destiny
by Gemini14
Summary: At a time when even the feared Space Pirates think they have earned some peace, something happens that almost tears even the hope of it to shreds. Can they find out what is going on?
1. The Beginning of a Nightmare

Foreshadowing Destiny

Chapter One: The Beginning of a Nightmare

It had started as a simple visit to a grave; that was the only way to explain it. Young Harlock gazed solemnly at the screens before him; silently remembering what had happened just months before, when he had last been here.

"Kinda hard to believe that it had taken you into the past, and let you meet your grandfather, huh?" Tochiro murmured, his tone subdued by the sight, as well.

"It is…..but even he'd said that impossible things can happen in space. It's just the first time I've seen something like what had happened to Dad, firsthand." Young Harlock agreed, quietly.

"Yeah……So, are you and Fang still gonna go out there and pay your respects?" Tochiro asked, as he watched his friend leave the _**DeathShadow**_'s wheel, and as Fang followed close behind him.

"Might as well." Young Harlock said, yet grinned when he looked up and saw the _**Queen Emeraldas**_ appear as well.

"I guess we'll meet up at the Pirate Islands in a while, then. See ya!" Tochiro shouted, before racing off at top speed in order to get to his fighter and fly over to the other pirate vessel.

"Let's just hope he doesn't end up getting into trouble in the meantime. Right, my friend?" Fang asked, jokingly, as he and Young Harlock also made their way towards the hangar.

"That's a miracle that'll never happen, Fang." Young Harlock muttered, with a laugh, as he picked up his flight helmet and walked to his personal fighter.

"True enough……But then again, you had said something similar before we'd met Falko and Fritz, remember?" Fang reminded; snickering inwardly when Young Harlock directed a vaguely chagrined look to him for that.

"I was hoping you'd forget that." Young Harlock mumbled, with a sigh, as he climbed up into the cockpit, opened the co-pilot's seat for Fang, helped him get into it, and then he sat down and fastened himself in.

"All right, Yattaran. Open the bay door." Young Harlock said, when he'd sealed his cockpit, and watched as Tochiro approached the launch platform first.

"Aye, sir!" Yattaran replied, and then promptly did just that. Seconds later, both fighters were ejected from within the _**DeathShadow**_'s docking bay, and they went their separate ways.

"See ya in a few hours, Harlock!" Tochiro shouted, as he rocketed towards the _**Queen Emeraldas**_.

"See you then, my friend." Young Harlock replied, before veering off and heading towards the _**Discoverer**_. Little did either of them realize just what was heading their way…..and how it would shape the rest of their lives.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(Divider)

Harlock sighed as he gazed out the window of his cabin at the stars. So much was happening, and yet nothing was changing, at the same time.

"_Here I am_……_remarried, about to become a father again_……_and yet I am no longer aging. How could this be?_" Harlock wondered, curiously.

"_Don't try to figure it out, old friend. You'll fry your brain._" Tochiro Sr. chortled, his comment getting a slight smirk from Harlock as a response.

"_True enough. Though I suppose if I had been meant to understand it, even Hiko wouldn't have to wonder about it._" Harlock mused, ruefully.

"Harlock?" Marian called, "_**Arcadia**_ to Harlock! Are you still with us?" Marian's voice asked, as she came alongside her husband and smiled up at him.

"Somewhat…..Just thinking, is all." Harlock replied, then gazed warmly at her.

"Really? Or were you having a private conversation with Tochiro again?" Marian asked, staying close to Harlock's side, as he moved away from the window. At this, Harlock could only laugh and shake his head.

"A bit of both, actually." Harlock admitted.

"I see…..Is there something bothering you again?" Marian questioned; a hint of concern appearing in her hazel eyes at the thought of something troubling the man she loved.

"Not 'bothering' per se…..Just a bit of the usual worries a man would have, when he finds himself about to become a parent again…….Only this time, it will be from the beginning." Harlock said, as he gingerly touched Marian's swollen belly; smiling when he felt the baby within her kick in response.

"Yes. And you'd better be prepared to change diapers too, or I'll be the one keelhauling your ass by the time everything's said and done!" Marian warned, good-naturedly. At this, Harlock only rolled his eye and gave her a feigned look of dread.

"I have the feeling you'll want to keelhaul me anyway, before this is over." Harlock muttered; inwardly dreading the day when the child would be born, and the pain he knew Marian would end up going through because of it. Yet, his thoughts were disrupted when the comm link on his desk beeped, and he reached over to answer it.

"Yes." Harlock said, in answer to the call.

"Sabu here, Captain. We're approaching the Pirate Islands now." A man's voice informed, and got a nod from the space pirate captain in response.

"Very well. Harlock out." Harlock stated, then moved to retrieve his cloak from his chair and put it back on.

"The ship doesn't seem quite the same without having Kei on board, does it?" Marian asked, as she watched Harlock thoughtfully turn and gaze at the two model ships he had on the mantle.

"It doesn't……but it couldn't be helped. She had been ordered to complete bed-rest till the twins she's carrying are born..." Harlock said, sighing as he did so, "I can only hope Darghund doesn't get wind of this….."

"That's all we can do, for now." Marian murmured, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Harlock worried almost endlessly over her safety, and that of anyone else in his crew who was in a similar precarious position. And the situation wasn't helped much, since Lightningtooth was also waiting for the birth of Angel's newest litter; spending more time on Luviji than at his master's side.

"_Who woulda thought I would see the day when Harlock became a worrywart?_" Tochiro Sr. quipped, getting what could only be an exasperated sigh from Harlock as a response, and laughing at his friend's expense. Yet not even the spirit of the _**Arcadia**_'s engineer could guess just what was about to happen…..nor could he sense the tragedy that was about to occur…..

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(Divider)

Falko looked aside, as a faint signal started to register on one of the computers in front of him.

"What's going on?" Falko asked, when he'd noticed the familiarity of the signal's source.

"I don't know…..It sounds like it's being jammed somehow….." one man replied, as he turned and gave the captain of the _**Atlantis**_ a bewildered look, and then returned his attention to the consol in front of him.

"Can you trace where it's coming from?" Falko asked, as an uneasy feeling began to emerge within him.

"I think……Wait a minute……Oh no……" Nausicaa muttered, in horror, her face paling as she said that.

"What is it?" Falko again asked, tensely; becoming even more alarmed when Nausicaa started to cry.

"It…it's the _**DeathShadow**_…they've just been attacked…..and Young Harlock is missing…..They don't know where he is….." Nausicaa sobbed, as the true horror settled itself upon her, and as tears poured down her cheeks. As Falko's blood froze in his veins, he could only wonder what had happened, and how such a strong ship could have been taken unawares.

"_And I can only wonder how Harlock will handle such a cruel blow?_" Falko wondered, then gripped the helm wheel even tighter to steady himself, and spoke again, "Adjust our course. We're going to help the _**DeathShadow**_ get back to the Pirate Islands."

"Aye, aye, sir!" the crew on deck responded, before hurrying to do as they were told.

"_Young Harlock_…_Please still be alive._" Falko thought, hoping against hope that the younger captain had survived whatever misfortune had befallen his ship, and that that same misfortune wasn't about to visit the _**Arcadia**_, as well.

"I think we'd better be glad that Fritz had decided to stay on at Luviji, this time 'round. Ne, Falko?" Kai asked, as both he and Mind gave the pirate captain some uneasy looks. Falko nodded in agreement.

"Yes…..Though I can only hope that I won't have to tell him about the death of any more family members. The loss of his mother had been bad enough." Falko said, solemnly; his eyes narrowing at the thought of what the grief would do to his now eleven-year-old son…..


	2. First Encounters with a Vengeful Ghost

Chapter Two: First Encounters with a Vengeful Ghost

The sight that met the eyes of the captain and crew of the _**Atlantis**_ was one that left them all in stunned silence.

"Fucking hell……" Kai muttered, as he approached the viewscreen and got a closer look.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Kai." Falko agreed, horrified by what had become of the proud ship. The _**DeathShadow**_ was a battered shell of her usual self; smoke was pouring from the wound in her starboard side, her guns were badly damaged, and even her flag was tattered.

"Something had hit her and hit hard. What the hell happened here?" one of the _**Atlantis**_' crew asked, quietly; his subdued voice barely even being heard by the stunned brain of his captain.

"I don't know…..but see if you can make contact. I want to see if anyone is still alive over there." Falko commanded, as he quickly collected himself, and prepared for the worst.

"Aye sir!" Nausicaa replied, then started seeing if she could patch them through to the wounded pirate vessel; hoping that their worst fears weren't about to be realized.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

It was with an impending feeling of dread, that the closer Harlock got to the Pirate Islands, the more the foreboding feeling in his gut grew.

"_But what could it be?_" Harlock wondered, "_What is causing it, this time?_"

"Harlock?" Marian asked, having noticed how oddly silent the pirate captain now was, as well as the unease in his usually calm hazel eye; her concern for him outweighing any worry she should have had for herself, at this point.

"_I need to stop worrying her_……" Harlock thought, then warded off the feeling of dread, and gave her a slight smile in an effort to reassure her.

"_Something else is bothering him now_….." Marian mused, yet smiled in response. There would be no talking him into revealing what was wrong.

"_He'll let us know eventually, I suppose._" Marian inwardly sighed, as the _**Arcadia**_ finally settled in its' dock, and all on the bridge began to disembark. But Harlock froze when Tochiro Sr.'s voice suddenly uttered an almost horrified cry, and then alerted him to what was now going on.

"_I'm pickin' up a signal from Falko! Said something's happened to the __**DeathShadow**__! Patch it through, quick!_" Tochiro Sr. yelped, the urgency in his voice prompting Harlock to rush over to the communications equipment and make the necessary adjustments.

"Harlock, do you read? Over!" Falko's voice called, as his face appeared on the screen before Harlock.

"Loud and clear. What has happened over there?" Harlock asked, even though he dreaded what the answer would be. For a moment, Falko hesitated, then he steeled himself and began speaking again.

"The _**DeathShadow**_……has just suffered some sort of attack…..From what I have been able to find out, it had been an old Dreadnaught class that had attacked…..It had warped in from nowhere in front of the wreck of the _**Discoverer**_…..and almost torn them apart. Young Harlock's fighter got caught in the midst of the ship battle….." Falko murmured, as sorrow and loss appeared on Harlock's face at the thought of what had happened next.

"Where are you now, Falko?" Harlock asked, as he fought to maintain control over his grief.

"On my way back to the Pirate Islands. We're towing the _**DeathShadow**_ back as well." Falko replied, grimly.

"Then I will depend on you to guard the Pirate Islands while I am away." Harlock growled, as pure rage appeared in his single eye, "I need to find out who murdered my son."

"Right…..Be careful out there." Falko said, before his face disappeared from the screen, signaling that the transmission had ended.

"Harlock….." Marian softly said, as tears of grief also appeared in her eyes; getting the elder pirate captain to walk over to her and hold her close for a moment.

"I can't believe he's gone……It's just too unreal." Marian sobbed, as she gripped the material of his flightsuit tightly in her hands.

"Either way, I need to go personally and find out whether or not it is true…..Will you wait here for me?" Harlock asked, as he gently tilted her head up to look at him, and she saw the tears in his own eye. Marian could only nod wordlessly in agreement. As she alone disembarked to meet with the few who had come to meet her on the island, she could only hope that this tragedy wasn't what it seemed, and that Young Harlock was still alive……A possibility that seemed slimmer and slimmer, as time wore on.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

As they neared the area where the _**DeathShadow**_ had been brutally attacked, Harlock could only wonder how his son could have been taken completely by surprise, and who had pulled off the attack.

"_I should have guessed that things have been too quiet on Darghund's end_….._How else could they have known where the __**Discoverer**__'s wreck is?_" Harlock thought, darkly; his own blood boiling at the idea. Thus, he wasn't very surprised when what appeared to be three ships appeared on the radar…..yet none of them were Dreadnaughts.

"_Weird_….._these guys aren't what we're lookin' for at all!_" Tochiro Sr. growled.

"_I know_….._But what would three old Illumidas command vessels be doing out here?_" Harlock wondered.

"What're they doin' out here?!" Yattaran asked, echoing Harlock's thoughts almost exactly.

"Good question. La Miime, have you been able to figure out which set of codes they are using?" Harlock asked, as he looked to the alien woman for a answer. With a nod, La Miime answered him.

"Already done, and showing them on the computer now…..though it's very strange…..they're using Illumidas High Command codes!" La Miime replied, from her reassumed position at the communications controls.

"Somebody's got a sick sense of humor, to pull this kind of shit on us at a time like this!" one of the other men on deck snarled, furiously.

"I can only assume one of the vessels is carrying someone of high rank, even though no names have been mentioned yet." La Miime continued, even as she gave Harlock a bewildered look.

"Something isn't right about this…..be on your guard." Harlock warned; getting nods of agreement from his crew in response.

"Captain, it seems they are in the process of delivering a message to someone in Illumidas command. It says they have '….completed the test for the new weaponry, and that the first phase of 'Operation Dreadnaught' has been finished….'" La Miime said, after a few more confused moments.

"Operation Dreadnaught……And Falko had said that the ship was a Dreadnaught class…..Could they have restored one of the wrecks from the Illumidas War?" Harlock said, as an even deeper feeling of unease emerged from within his heart; were the Illumidas returning? And, if so, had they killed Young Harlock in retaliation for their previous defeats at his hand?

"We're being scanned, sir!" one of the other officers on deck yelped, returning Harlock's attention to the here and now.

"Very well. La Miime, Yattaran, send red signals to all hands! Raise the shields and ready the main guns!" Harlock commanded, getting a flurry of activity as his crew hurried to carry out the orders. Yet they weren't prepared when the ships suddenly disappeared.

"They've warped, sir!" Yattaran shouted, in alarm.

"Any communications? And what about the scan?" Harlock asked.

"There weren't any communiqué between them, and the scan didn't come from any of the Illumidas ships. The scan itself was only active for a few seconds before the shielding blocked it. I'm running a diagnostic check now." La Miime replied, calmly.

"They could not have gotten much. Has our own jump been plotted yet?" Harlock questioned; knowing now that he would have to proceed with caution, in this battle, and hating every moment of it.

"Yes sir." Sabu replied, confidently.

"Then stand by." Harlock warned, yet, before he could give the command to leave the area, the alarms sounded again.

"Captain! We've got three warp fields off the port bow!" Yattaran shouted, from his position, before all hell broke loose. Without any hesitation, the three cruisers opened fire on the _**Arcadia**_; putting everything they had into their assault on the mighty ship's shields. And soon they weren't alone…..

"Three more ships warping in on the starboard side!" another of the men on deck yelped.

"Stay the course! We need to see what else they have in store for us!" Harlock snarled, as he gripped the helm wheel firmly, and glared coldly at the enemy ships that were appearing like giant metal ghosts before him.

"They're comin' in from all sides, now!" yet another of the crew cried, aghast that their old enemies were as strong as they had been, years ago.

"It seems they have finally learned tactics from somewhere…..Get us out of here." Harlock said, and got in immediate agreement from his crew for that. Seconds later, they found themselves in what appeared to be an asteroid field.

"Wonder what they were up to, over there?" Yattaran muttered, as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess they were countin' on our curiosity to keep us there long enough to get lucky." One of the other men said, in response. Harlock was inclined to agree.

"Captain! We need to warp again now! They were after the navigational codes!" La Miime suddenly shouted, with enough alarm in her voice that it sent a chill down Harlock's back.

"_The navigational codes_….._If they got those_….._then it would only be a matter of time before Darghund gets wind of where the Pirate Islands are! Damn!_" Harlock silently growled; wishing with all his heart that Lightningtooth could have been by his side, so they could go and tear Darghund limb from limb for this. But the worst was yet to come.

"Dammit! Warp field right in front of us, Captain!" Sabu yelped, as a familiar, yet altogether eerie sight appeared before their disbelieving eyes. Right in front of them, the gleaming apparition shared the appearance with the ship Harlock had scuttled at the beginning of the Illumidas Occupation…..and the ship that Young Harlock and Tochiro Jr. had overhauled and rebuilt.

"No fucking way……" one of the men mumbled, in absolute disbelief.

"A ghost….." another added, numbly. Harlock, on the other hand, could feel his heart actually skip a beat, and his grip on the helm wheel falter for a split second, before he regained control over his emotions.

"_That __isn't__ the __**DeathShadow**__. There's no way in hell it could be in two places at once!_" Tochiro Sr. said, bristling at the thought of the green-faced aliens defiling another of the great Solar Federation ships, and putting the memory of those who had served aboard them to shame.

"_We both know that, old friend, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't have raised one of the sister ships from the dead!_" Harlock replied; his eye narrowing as he glared at the imposing sight on the screen, and waited for its' first move.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

At the same moment, another man was gazing up at a viewscreen, a slight smirk appearing on his hawkish features as he stood there. For many years, he had been waiting for the opportunity to face the space pirates' leader head-on….and now he had his chance.

"It seems we have the good captain at an advantage, Goward. Direct main batteries toward the _**Arcadia**_'s towers and show them what we have." The mysterious man said, getting an automatic agreement to that. Seconds later, the 'ghost ship' opened fire; hitting the opposing ship's tower on its' starboard side. When the _**Arcadia**_ fired in retaliation, however…..

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"_Damn! That shielding's new to me, as are most of the impulses I'm picking up from her systems! She's been totally overhauled!_" Tochiro Sr. shouted, in the back of Harlock's mind, as they witnessed the true power of the ship that had nearly destroyed the real _**DeathShadow**_ just hours before.

"_As it is, this ship has more firepower than the __**DeathShadow**__ had originally had, under my command_….._If that is the case, then we may be in trouble._" Harlock agreed, bristling even as he thought of that.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"Captain, deflective shielding is holding properly at sixty percent. At this rate, we'll cripple them before they can even get a chance of breaking through it." One of the men on deck said, as he turned to look at the _**DeathShadow**_ imposter's captain for a go-ahead. With a smirk, he nodded.

"Very well. Notify me when the situation changes." The man replied, then turned to look at the console nearest him, "Hephaistion, have you detected the exact location of the bridge yet?" Moments later, the computer responded; its' mechanical voice sending cold chills down the spines of all who heard it.

"_Yes, Alexander. Taking control of the forward gun turret now. Waiting for your command._" The computer said, coldly.

"Then fire when the opportunity for maximum damage presents itself. Use your judgment." 'Alexander' commanded; and subsequently got what he asked for, moments later.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

All on the _**Arcadia**_'s bridge were either knocked off their feet, or bowled over from their seats, when the blast impacted full force against the ship's hull. With a slight grunt of pain, Harlock pulled himself up from his prone position on the floor just in front of his chair, and listened as his crew gave him the damage report.

"Captain! That volley crippled the sensors! We've lost all of the helm links and I don't know how to re-establish them!" Sabu yelped, as he looked back at the captain with wide, fearful eyes.

"_Tochiro, can you hear me?_" Harlock silently said, afraid that his friend was gone for good, this time….but was relieved when he got a response.

"_Damned good-for-nothing Illumidas! It's gonna take me even longer to repair everything they've ruined in here, since I no longer have a substantial body anymore! SHIT!!_" Tochiro Sr. fumed, angrily; his tirade reassuring Harlock that no harm had been done to the spirit of the ship.

"Captain, the shields to this area have come down. I'm re-routing to cover the aft section." La Miime finally said, when she had gotten her wits about her again. For the briefest of moments, Harlock hesitated. He knew what this meant, but could he really risk it?

"_It seems there's no other choice_….._If worst comes to worst, Falko might have to call all of our allies together to take this thing down. I can't have the __**Atlantis**__ get shot down here!_" Harlock thought, as he then left the wheel, and looked gravely at Sabu.

"Transfer all helm systems to external control." Harlock commanded; his words freezing the most of the other men within hearing range in their tracks.

"External control, sir? Are you nuts?!" Sabu shouted, aghast.

"You should consider me insane if I didn't find some way of fighting back…..I'm not going to let Young Harlock's murder slide." Harlock growled; his eye getting a dangerous glint in it, as he spoke. And, with notable reluctance, Sabu did as he was told.

"Helm transfer complete, Captain. But the risk….." La Miime said, uncertainly, as she watched Harlock rush from the bridge.

"I'm not going down so easily." Harlock retorted, as he swiftly made his way to the place where he could get to the other helm wheel, "_I'll be damned if I let history repeat itself a third time!_"

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"Damage report, Hephaistion?" Alexander asked, almost casually.

"_They have redistributed the shielding as expected. Further attacks on the main bridge would be unproductive._" The computer responded, dutifully.

"Have you located their auxiliary bridge yet?" Alexander again questioned.

"_Analysis is proving difficult at present, but I should have it within two minutes._" Hephaistion again replied.

"Good. Continue to press them, Mr. Goward. I want their shields down before those scans are complete!" Alexander commanded, and got a prompt 'Yes sir' as a response to that.

"_We'll see how much longer the fates will smile on you, Harlock._" Alexander silently snarled, as he watched the enemy ship reel from the attacks, yet not falter in the slightest.

_**Author's Note!**_

_**A bit of a fast-mover, I know, but this story is coming about a bit stranger than most! Please bear with me, since even I have no idea how it will turn out, in the end! Thanks for reading, anyway!**_

_**Gemini14**_


	3. Within Enemy Territory

Chapter Three: Within Enemy Territory

"Damn! The aft shields are going down! We're not gonna be able to keep this up for much longer!" Yattaran said, worriedly, as smoke rose from some of the consoles near him.

"The navigational links are still down…..and engineering reports that they will not be able to re-establish the warp for at least ten minutes." La Miime added, as worry appeared in her golden eyes, as well.

"The shield won't last that long! Dammit!" Yattaran cursed; wishing now that Tochiro Sr. hadn't died years before…..not realizing that the ghost of the engineer was thinking the same thing!

"We've got an incoming signal!" Sabu shouted, as a vague image began to form on the _**Arcadia**_'s screen.

"Impossible! That'd mean that they're bypassing the manual relays!" Yattaran replied, as they all looked up and the face of an unfamiliar man appeared there.

"This is Captain Alexander Nevich of the _**DeathShadow**_. On behalf of the New Illumidas Empire, I demand the surrender of the _**Arcadia**_ and her captain, Harlock." The man on the screen said, calmly.

"_Shit. This looks bad_….._I hope you've got something planned, Captain, since it looks like we won't get out of this intact if you don't!_" Yattaran thought, then gritted his teeth angrily, "He's not ours to give!"

"Yeah, so up yours', alien lover!" another of the crew agreed, giving the other man a lewd gesture, before they managed to block the signal again, and the man's face disappeared from view.

"There, that should keep 'em out until we can find the source of the problem!" Yattaran muttered, hoping that the computer would be able to hold against the assault, and that Harlock would be able to win the battle.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

As Harlock raced down the hallways, he took only a few seconds to remember something from each room that he passed; the times when Kei would be chasing Young Harlock and Tochiro Jr. through the halls, the window Young Harlock would sometimes contemplatively sit in front of in quieter moments, the walls where some members of the crew had been glued by Yattaran for complaining about the boys……All of these memories were now filled with bitterness, since one of the boys in question was now gone.

"_I need to survive this. I won't let Young Harlock's death be in vain_….._If it's war the Illumidas want so badly, then I'll give it to them!_" Harlock silently raged, before calling out to another of his crew and getting his attention, "Sufrin! Follow me!"

"Yes sir!" the older man agreed, without question; running alongside the captain till they arrived at the airlock that would lead Harlock to the other helm wheel.

"Oversee the reroute of the navigational systems to these controls. There seems to be some interference out there that is messing with the systems themselves." Harlock said, as he checked his spacesuit to make sure it was airtight.

"Aye, sir!" Sufrin replied, as he opened the first airlock door, watched Harlock put on a helmet, and then closed the door after him. Moments later, the pirate captain had emerged onto the aft section of the _**Arcadia**_, and was preparing to bring the fight to his enemies.

"Gravity well is activated, Captain. The helm is yours." Sufrin said, via comm-link, and got a thumb's up from the captain in response.

"_Let's hope this works_……" Harlock mused, as he gripped the external wheel, and started to turn it; feeling momentary relief when the ship responded.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Yattaran reacted instantly, when one of the communications links on the bridge beeped.

"Yeah?" Yattaran asked, edgily.

"Sufrin here! Helm links are established. Let's see if we can give the captain some shielding, back here!" Sufrin's voice said, that news alone giving the rest of the crew some hope.

"Right! I'm transferring all remaining shielding to the aft decks! Hang on, everybody, things are about to get bumpy!" Yattaran announced, as he did just that.

"_I hope it will be in time_….." La Miime thought, as she reached out empathically, and touched Harlock's mind; feeling the raw rage and spiritual agony he was still reeling from, and as he channeled those into a fierce will to live. They all could only hope that he lived to see the birth of Marian's son….and that it would, in some way, lessen the pain of losing Young Harlock to old enemies.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"Captain! Their forward shields have been breached!" one of the men in Nevich's crew shouted, as another blast from the false _**DeathShadow**_'s cannons struck the _**Arcadia**_'s starboard side; opening a hole there that was similar to the one Falko had seen in the real _**DeathShadow**_'s side hours earlier.

"_They have realigned the shielding, and re-established the navigational links._" Hephaistion said, sounding remotely confused over this finding.

"Curious. I did notice that Harlock wasn't on the bridge when I established contact a few moments ago……I wonder where he could be?" Nevich mused, as he watched the battle continue to rage from his vantagepoint, and as the _**Arcadia**_ somehow continued to bring the fight to them.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"G.E. #5 is down! Helm's still responding, though, the Captain's taking the fight to 'em!" Yattaran said, as the false _**DeathShadow**_'s blasts shook the _**Arcadia**_ violently.

"But their shields are still undamaged!" another of the men cursed, before Sabu turned and raced off of the bridge; resolve and determination settling onto his round features as he did so.

"Sabu! Where th' hell are ya goin' man?!" another of the crew asked, as he followed the younger man into the hangar, and watched in shock as Sabu climbed up onto Harlock's personal fighter, "What are you doing?! That's Harlock's…..!"

"I know! But I need to do this! Go and open the bay doors! Hurry!" Sabu shouted, as he settled himself into the cockpit, and prepared for flight.

"Why? Why're you doin' this?" his crewmate asked, his face paling when he saw the grim certainty in Sabu's eyes, and then went to do as he was told. Moments later, the bay doors opened, and fighter took off; flying gracefully around the _**Arcadia**_ once to bid his captain a final farewell, Sabu looked down when he saw the taller man on the aft section, said man's shocked reaction to seeing his fighter fly over him, and then blazed towards the false _**DeathShadow**_.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"The hangar doors have just opened!" one crewmember yelped, when he'd noticed what was going on.

"I have a lone fighter on course for the enemy ship!" La Miime added; feeling her blood chill in her veins, when she sensed Harlock's shock over seeing said fighter do that.

"Right now, we've got more pressing problems! All of the main shields have just collapsed! I can't reroute any of it without risking the Captain!" Yattaran shouted, desperately; his eyes widening even moreso than usual, with alarm.

"Then we have no choice…..do it. Harlock would approve." La Miime encouraged. Yet, before they could even begin, a tremendous explosion shook the _**Arcadia**_; knocking them all off of their feet again. And, when Sufrin finally managed to get to his feet again, horror was all he felt, when he saw that the external helm wheel was now unmanned…..Harlock was gone.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"Captain! That last volley clipped their generator! Their shields are gone!" one of Nevich's crew shouted, victoriously, as they watched the _**Arcadia**_ drift onto her side; smoke pouring out of her from wounds all over her hull.

"Very good!" Nevich commended, then glanced at the computer again, "Hephaistion, have you been able to lock into their computer yet?"

"_This is very strange, Alexander_….._I can access certain systems, but others are too well guarded. I will need more time._" Hephaistion replied, with a hint of confusion in his mechanical voice.

"Well, if their shields are down, and they can't warp, shouldn't we board immediately?" the Illumidas commander on board asked, as he looked to the human captain for advice.

"That wouldn't be very wise." Nevich muttered; knowing for a fact that the crew of the _**Arcadia**_ would rather die than surrender…..especially this crew, since they had survived the first Illumidas War and Occupation, and weren't very likely to subject themselves to the same thing again.

"Captain! There's an unidentified hostile approaching!" one of Nevich's crew yelped, when he'd heard the report, and looked up at his captain with a hint of fear in his eyes.

"Hephaistion?" Nevich asked, edgily.

"_It appears to be one of the fighters from the __**Arcadia**__. Putting it on the visual now._" Hephaistion dutifully said, before doing just that. With amazement appearing in his eyes, Nevich watched as the Cosmo Wing closed in; recognizing the designs on its' sides as belonging to the pirate captain himself!

"Harlock!" another crewmember shouted, as fear appeared on his face.

"_It appears he is planning to impact, Alexander._" Hephaistion commented.

"So much for taking him alive…..Destroy it, Hephaistion!" Nevich commanded, getting an affirmative from the computer, before it opened fire on the fighter.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

As he watched the blasts close in on him, Sabu tearfully let a sad smile cross his face.

"_Sorry, Kei-san, but it looks like this is it for me. Take care of yourself!_" Sabu thought, before the blasts ripped into the fighter, and blew it apart…..

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

On Titan, where Kei now lay, waiting to give birth, she felt it when the last of her own crew gave up his life for his captain…..and allowed her tears to flow.

"Sabu…..no…." Kei whispered, sorrowfully, as she felt his spirit enter the room, gently touch her forehead affectionately, and then disappear from her side without a trace. Such was the life of a pirate, in the Sea of Stars…..and Sabu had lived it honorably.


	4. A Glimmer of Hope in the Darkness

Chapter Four: A Glimmer of Hope in the Darkness

Those on board the _**Arcadia**_ could only watch and wait, as the false _**DeathShadow**_ floated silently before them; wondering, now, how the final blow would be dealt. One could only imagine their surprise and confusion, when the victorious ship suddenly warped away; an act of mercy that left them perplexed.

"They simply warped away? Why? They must have known that our shields were gone!" La Miime said, confusedly.

"It may have had something to do with that fighter that'd launched without authorization….." Yattaran replied, yet jumped when Sufrin's voice again came through the comm-link…..but now they could hear grief in his tone, as well.

"This is Sufrin…..There's no easy way to say this….but….I think we've lost the captain….." Sufrin sorrowfully said, as shock and disbelief emerged within the hearts of those on the bridge. First Young Harlock, and now his father too?

"_Fate is too cruel_….._Far too cruel_….." La Miime thought, dreading what Marian's reaction would be, when she heard the horrible news. The youngest child in the Harlock clan would now grow up without a father……or an elder brother…..to look up to.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Later, and within the false _**DeathShadow**_ itself, Nevich was making his last rounds, for the night. He noticed when he entered one hallway that the light was on in one of the rooms, and could sense the disturbed feelings of its' occupant as though they were his own. With a sigh, he carefully entered the room, and gazed at the ten-year-old boy that now sat there, gazing out the window.

"You felt it also, didn't you, son?" Nevich asked, gently; getting a numb nod from the boy in response.

"Yeah." The boy replied, softly. Nevich sighed again, and this time with true regret in his eyes.

"I wish there were some other way, I really do…..but this sort of thing is part of war…..Some must die so others can live." Nevich said, trying to comfort the boy with those words. At the boy's rather listless nod, Nevich shook his head slightly. Even though he was currently at war, he honestly wished he didn't have to drag his son out onto the battlefield as well…..but there had been no other choice.

"_The colony where we had been living had been taken over so suddenly, that we'd had no time to evacuate. The only choices that were available at the time were to enlist in the Illumidas' army, or die. And my son is nowhere near ready to be on his own yet._" Nevich thought, as he then stood again, patted the boy's shoulder, and walked to the door again.

"Don't stay up too late." Nevich said, the command in his voice unmistakable, even as the concern of a parent still lingered.

"Okay, Dad." The boy agreed.

"Sleep well." Nevich said, before finally leaving the room entirely. Yet, when he was sure his father had walked far enough down the hall so he would not be heard, the boy then jumped from the bed, rushed to the wall, pressed something on it, and opened a hidden door. On the other side of the door, a small room could be seen…..and on the floor, a makeshift cot had been positioned, and an unconscious man lay on it. Anxiously, the boy placed a hand to the man's brow; jumping when he felt the fever there, and when the man uttered a soft groan of pain in response…..and also when the thing on the other side of the room uttered a pained whine in answer to it.

"Hey…..are you wakin' up now?" the boy asked, keeping his voice low, in case anyone was listening. He got no response, at first, but then his spirits were buoyed, when the man slowly opened his eyes, and looked blearily up at him.

"Who…..? Where…..?" the man whispered; wincing when the effort of even talking sent shooting pain through him.

"The name's Alex! I'm the son of the captain of this ship! Who're you and how'd you get here, in my closet?" the boy questioned, curiously. For a few moments, it seemed almost as though just that information alone was overwhelming to the man, as he briefly closed his eyes again.

"Alex, huh? Guess it's fair…..that I tell you my name…..Phantom Harlock IV……otherwise known as 'Young Harlock'……Good to meet you, kid." The man managed, through a painfully protesting throat, as he gave the boy a strained smirk.

"And what about the wolf? Does he have a name too?" the boy again asked. Young Harlock slowly nodded.

"Yeah…..That's Fang……He's the one…..who'd gotten us in your closet…..to begin with." Young Harlock answered, with almost a mischievous glint in his pain-filled eyes, when the wolf mumbled something to the effect of 'I didn't do it intentionally' under his breath.

"Whoa…..so he can talk too, huh?" Alex asked, eager to get to know about the man and wolf, as he offered Young Harlock a bottle of water, and then opened another for the wolf while he was at it.

"Sometimes too much….." Young Harlock muttered; getting a chagrined 'Shut up' from Fang for his troubles. Yet, even without either of them saying anything else, the boy knew that it had been a strange miracle that had narrowly saved the pair from an untimely death. When the two _**DeathShadow**_s had met and fought, and when the false one had won, it had been Fang's quick-thinking that had saved their lives. Now, save for the cracked ribs and some bruises, Young Harlock was still alive…..even though they still didn't know what had become of their ship after the battle had ended.

"_I hope they'd managed to survive it_….._I still need to get some payback for that._" Young Harlock mused, as he painfully sat up, took the bottle of water Alex had offered to him, and thoughtfully drank it; hoping that soon he would get the chance to leave and find his crew, wherever they now were…..and find out if they were all right.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the ship, the maintenance crew was going through the debris that had gathered in the false _**DeathShadow**_'s warp field, and one sneered when he discovered something amidst the melted and twisted metal.

"Hey! Lookit this!" he called, as he picked up what appeared to be a small pocket watch, and showed it to his crewmates, "It must've come from inside Harlock's fighter and it got caught in the warp field after it was blown up."

"Shit, that looks like real gold." One man muttered, as he took the watch and opened it; surprised to discover that it had the picture of a young woman on the inside of it.

"Wouldn't have figured Harlock for somebody who liked girls as young as this!" the man said, as he handed the watch back to the one who had found it.

"Got that right. This girl must be about fifteen or sixteen…..But, then again, you never know." The first agreed, when he'd seen the picture as well, and allowed a perverted smile to cross his face, at that.

"Yeah, I suppose those pirates must get pretty desperate!" his crewmate snickered, to another man who stood nearby; the both of them laughing over their sick joke, as the discoverer of the watch started to walk down the hallway towards his room….but he never got there. No sooner was he out of sight of his friends, did someone throw a hard right at his head, and knock him out completely. He never even saw it when the man who had done the deed kneeled, picked up the watch, and glanced warily around to see if anyone had heard the man hit the floor. Once he was satisfied that no one was coming, he stood again and checked his weapons. He then did something rather odd; he pressed something on the back of his belt buckle, and smirked faintly when he saw the red light turn on, signaling that it was transmitting.

"_Let's just hope that it isn't being disrupted_….._That is the last thing I need._" He inwardly growled, as he then took off down the hallway; heading for the central computer room and hoping that he could avoid attention from the ship's crew until he was able to do something to stop the ship itself.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

He was dreaming. Tochiro knew this beyond any shadow of a doubt. He was flying through the Sea of Stars, with the woman he loved by his side. He was filled momentarily with some confusion, however, when he turned to look back over his shoulder. There sat the _**DeathShadow**_, as formidable as always, and alongside it, was the _**Arcadia**_. Yet it was the third ship that took him aback; it seemed to be a shiny, darker-colored version of the elder Harlock's ship……and he could see his friend standing at the helm, waiting for him to return.

"_But if Harlock's there, then who's got the __**DeathShadow**__?!_" Tochiro wondered, as he closed the distance between himself and the ship, and looked inside. To his shock, he could see a teenager standing at the _**DeathShadow**_'s helm; his wild, auburn hair, untamed hazel eyes, and the scar across his left cheek telling him just who this youth was related to…..and at his side, a teen who looked remarkably like Kai stood, as well!

"_Are they_…..?" Tochiro wondered, yet backpedaled away, when all three ships suddenly started exploding; jolting him from sound sleep into wakefulness in no time.

"NO!!" Tochiro cried, as he bolted upright in his bed; his heart thundering in his chest as he quickly glanced around the room to make sure that it had just been a bad dream.

"Tochiro? Are you all right?" Young Emeraldas' voice asked, from the comm-link beside his bed, as her concerned face appeared on the screen.

"Y-yeah….I'll be right up!" Tochiro shakily said, as he grabbed his glasses, shoved them onto his face, and then leaped from the bed; running as fast as his legs could carry him, to the _**Queen Emeraldas**_' bridge; the dread building in his heart the further he went. Just what had that dream been about, exactly? And was it about to come true, in the worst way imaginable?

"_Please be all right, my friends_….._Don't die like that._" Tochiro thought, uneasily, as he arrived on the bridge, and greeted his mother and his lover with a strained smile. Little did any of them realize, just what had happened, or what they were about to face…..but they would soon find out.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

The atmosphere on board the _**Arcadia**_ was grim, as the crew struggled to comprehend just what had occurred. Now, not only was Young Harlock gone, but so was his father.

"…..Then I looked up, and he was gone. The line must've snapped and he lost his grip on the wheel." Sufrin said, with immense quilt in his eyes as he spoke.

"It wasn't your fault…..With all the chaos that's been goin' on, there was nothing anyone could've done….." Yattaran sighed, for once too subdued to even think about his model airplanes, then added, as he glanced at La Miime, "La Miime's been scannin' the area for a little over an hour now. I think it's time to abandon this and get the ship movin' before those damned Illumidas come back."

"Yeah." Sufrin agreed, reluctantly, even though he could tell what a blow to morale this was going to be……and the deeper wound it was going to inflict on Marian's heart when she heard the news that her husband was also missing in action. Yet their attention was taken from the immediate need to tell that to La Miime, when one of other crewmembers arrived on the bridge with news.

"Maji'd said to tell you that the helm links are working again, but it'll be another half-hour before we can warp." The man stated; his words getting a few sighs of relief from those before him.

"At least some of the news is good, then." Yattaran muttered, yet then seemed to notice that something was bothering the man, "What seems to be the trouble? Is there something you need to add?"

"It's Sabu, First Officer……he went and sacrificed himself for us." The man murmured, as looks of shock appeared on his crewmates' faces.

"No way…..Sabu…..Why did he do such a thing?!" Sufrin asked, stunned by the normally timid crewman's final act of bravery, to no end.

"He'd said that there was no other way…..so he took the Captain's Cosmo Wing…..and flew it into the maw of that monster…..He didn't stand a chance in hell….." the man sobbed, unashamed to let his tears of grief flow freely down his cheeks.

"Damn….." Yattaran mumbled, as he sat down in the nearest chair, and then glanced at the spot the other man had occupied until then; shaking his head in disbelief as he did so. A valuable ally and friend had been lost in the battle, right alongside Harlock…..Had his sacrifice been for nothing?

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Nevich sat back in his chair with a sigh, and rubbed his eyes. It was now early morning, and his crew was just beginning to rouse up for their duties.

"_This is the only thing I don't like about being a captain_….._Have never liked about being a captain, as far back as I can recall_….." Nevich groused, as he took a sip of his coffee, and grimaced at the taste. Even though he had been in the Solar Federation, years before, even then he had never been able to adjust to getting up early.

"_I had always sworn that when I was out of the military, I would sleep in as late as I wanted_….._Whatever happened to __that__ dream, I wonder?_" Nevich silently sighed, then spoke to the computer again, "Hephaistion, we're going to need to accelerate our schedule. I want all of the adjustments finished inside of two hours, if my plan is going to succeed."

"_It will be difficult, but not impossible, Alexander._" The computer replied. With only a nod of approval, Nevich then stood, stretched, and made to leave the room.

"I need to oversee the work in the main computer room. See to Alex for me, will you? He needs his exercise." Nevich murmured, distractedly.

"_I understand._" Hephaistion replied, then spoke up again, when something occurred to it, "_Alexander?_"

"Yes?" Nevich said, in response.

"_Do you know that there is a good chance that Harlock is not dead?_" Hephaistion asked; seeming to become bewildered, when Nevich allowed a somewhat bitter smile to appear on his hawkish features.

"Yes, my friend. He is still alive…..they both are." Nevich replied, with certainty.

"_Both?_" Hephaistion asked, again.

"The captain of the ship we had attacked before we had come across the _**Arcadia**_ is also still very much alive, along with Harlock." Nevich muttered; his smile vanishing and his eyes narrowing at the thought of that.

"_How can you be so certain? I do not understand._" Hephaistion said, confusedly.

"No, you can't understand….The fates have always smiled on Harlock…." Nevich growled, as he remembered the day when his plans for the computer that now inhabited the false _**DeathShadow**_'s main computer room had been rejected, and the ship he had so longed to command had remained under it's original captain. Another thought that had galled him, was the fact that the true _**DeathShadow**_ had been snatched right out from under his very nose before he could even get to it.

"_But who could have done it? Who the hell could have known about that ship's history?_" Nevich wondered, as he strode down the hall towards the main computer room; unaware that in a very short while, he would come face to face with one of the men who had taken his coveted prize from earth…..

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Young Harlock uttered a growl as he roused up again, the pain in his ribs preventing him from getting any more sleep, at that point.

"Are you all right, Harlock?" Fang asked, as he limped over to his side and sat down; his blue eyes filled with concern.

"Yeah….Even though my ribs hurt like hell…..I'm doing better than before…...At least the room isn't spinning." Young Harlock said, as he forced himself to sit up; his face paling as he did so.

"True. So, do you want to see if we can get out of here unnoticed?" Fang asked, knowing that he was still too weak to even try going through a gate, at this point. He got a nod for a confirmation, before his master slowly got up; bracing himself on his back with a growl, when the pain almost overwhelmed him.

"You sure you oughtta be movin' like that?" Alex asked, concernedly, when he'd come around and looked into the tiny room at them; seeing the strain in the space pirate's eyes, all too clearly.

"I'm fine, kid. Don't worry." Young Harlock said, as he stood up and started to walk out of the room; finding himself reminded of Fritz, somewhat, in the way the boy had asked about him.

"_Let's just hope that we will even get a head start in getting out of this_….._I don't like the feel of this ship, at all._" Fang silently growled, as he and Young Harlock cautiously edged their way into the hallway.

"_You're not the only one. There's something sickeningly familiar about it_……." Young Harlock agreed, as they cautiously made their way down the halls of the ship; not even realizing that Alex was silently wishing them luck in their escape, as he watched them go.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

At the same time, in the main computer room, two men were hard at work on the computer itself; trying to remove something from inside of it, that their captain had decided wasn't going to be in there for much longer.

"Finally! That thing has to be connected directly to the main power routing! Go tell the commander that I'm going to go ahead and start removing it." One man said, with a grin, as he located the power control the Illumidas had placed in there, during the construction.

"Right. Those green demons will be in for one hell of a surprise, won't they?" the other man asked, rhetorically; unaware that someone else was listening in on the conversation, as well.

"Damn straight. They'll never know what hit 'em!" the first man said, enthusiastically, yet turned when he heard the sound of someone hitting his friend over the head with something metallic. As he turned and looked up, his eyes widened in almost comical horror, at the sight of the imposing man standing there, glaring at him.

"A-a ghost….." the man whispered, as he cowered away from the figure; scooting back as far as he could.

"Not yet, though you may soon wish I was." Harlock snarled, as he held his gravity saber to the cowering man's throat, menacingly.

"S-stay back….." the man whispered, fearfully, as he tried to back up even further, only to find that there was nowhere else to go.

"How dare you name this ship after earth's finest vessel, cripple the true ship, and murder my son…..Who is the Illumidas dog you serve?" Harlock intoned, dangerously; his eye narrowing as he spoke. And yet, with those words, the man seemed to gain a hint of courage, and spat at Harlock's feet contemptuously in retaliation.

"I'll take that from no man or ghost! This _**DeathShadow**_ belongs to the people of New Macedonia!" the man said, angrily, then added, "The earth has suffered long enough, pirate….and someone had to do something about it!"

"Do tell…..How does that computer come to be here? I don't remember that sort being on the true _**DeathShadow**_." Harlock said, as he pointed it out with his gravity saber.

"You'll get nothing more from me, pirate! I expect you'll get your answers soon enough!" the man shouted, as he shook his fist boldly at Harlock's face, yet freezing when a grim smile crossed said pirate's face, moments later.

"I expect I will." Harlock growled, as he then pulled the trigger in his gravity saber; the blast hitting the computer dead-on, and setting it on fire.

"Damn you! You don't know what you're doing!" the man howled, furiously, as Harlock turned and started to leave.

"Yes, I do. I'm putting a ghost to rest." Harlock retorted, before racing out of the room; heading as quickly as he could back towards the docking bay, when the alarms started blaring.


	5. Reminders of the Past

Chapter Five: Reminders of the Past

The sounds of the alarms blaring in the halls sent a surge of adrenaline through Young Harlock, as he and Fang raced for the docking bay.

"_Reminds me too much of that time on the __**Vengeance**_……" Young Harlock mused, darkly; leaping into an alcove in the wall when some members of the crew came running in his direction…..and allowing his mind to reel when he saw what they were.

"_Illumidas?! Have we fallen back in time again?!_" Fang silently yelped, as he watched them go.

"_I was about to ask you._" Young Harlock groused, then added, "_If even you don't know, then we're both well and truly screwed._" And yet, even with his reservations against doing so, Young Harlock started following them from a distance; a familiar uneasiness settling over him as he did so.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Meanwhile, at the same time, Alex was also running down the halls; his curiosity spurring him on, even as the mobile unit attached to Hephaistion followed.

"_Master Alex! Wait!_" the robot yelped, as his headstrong young charge barreled even further away from him.

"Shut up, Hephaistion! I need to see what's going on!" Alex retorted; no sooner saying that, when he ran headlong right into the source of the disturbance! As he looked up, the man in question was looking down at him in understandable shock.

"_Wha_….._What's Phantom doin' out here?! I thought he'd gone to get a ship and fly outta here!_" Alex thought, as he took in the man's appearance, and then noticed some things about him that were different from the pirate he knew. For one, this man seemed to be older, almost as old as his own father; and another, he was missing an eye!

"_Wait, could this guy be_……?" Alex wondered, then said, "Sorry about runnin' into you. I should've been watching where I was going." The older pirate nodded in understanding, but, before he could say anything in response, a laser seemingly came from nowhere, struck his left leg just below the knee, and toppled him.

"_Master Alex, move away at once!_" the robot commanded, as it rounded the corner; releasing reflective disks into the air as it came.

"Damn….." the older pirate growled, as he un-holstered the pistol at his hip, and reflexively placed himself between the boy and robot. He didn't even get one shot fired off, when the robot knocked the pistol from his hand, and forced him to leap aside to avoid more; getting a wince from him, when the weight was put on his bad leg.

"Hephaistion stop! He hasn't done anything!" Alex shouted, trying to help the pirate in the only way he could, at this point. The robot ignored him completely, and continued to fire blasts at the pirate…..and Alex could only curse his own weakness, when another blast clipped the man's left shoulder, as well. Now bleeding from two wounds, the pirate stopped for a moment to try and catch his breath; steeling himself against the pain, for his next desperate move. Somehow, Alex wasn't sure how, the pirate then leaped over the robot, landing on his bad leg again just in front of him and growling when the leg collapsed from under him again; his eye closing in agony, as fiery pain raced up and down the limb. Yet that eye opened again, when Alex cried out in pain, as well. When he had fallen, one of the blasts had ricocheted off of one of the disks, and hit Alex in the leg! With fury building, the pirate forced himself to his feet again, charged at the robot, and drove his gravity saber into it; pulling the trigger and dispatching the threat while he was at it. He barely even acknowledged the explosion this caused, as he then returned to Alex's side and got a good look at the wound.

"Why? Why would Hephaistion attack?" Alex asked, flinching as he allowed the pirate to inspect the damage, and then watched as he removed the scarf from around his own neck and tied it securely around the bleeding leg.

"I'm not exactly welcome on this ship." The pirate replied, as he secured the makeshift bandage around Alex's leg.

"What difference should that…..?" Alex started to ask, yet gasped when his father and several others arrived on the scene…..and feeling it when rage started to fill his father's heart.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Harlock at first could only feel surprise, shock, and disbelief, when he saw who the captain of the false _**DeathShadow**_ truly was.

"_Alexander Nevich_……_I should have known_." Harlock thought, as rage of his own making began to build within his heart. He was looking at his son's murderer! Yet he wasn't really surprised when the other man didn't say anything, and instead flew at him. He somehow managed to dodge the first few blows against him, yet uttered a snarl of pain, when the other man struck his wounded shoulder and made him backpedal into a wall; making him drop his gravity saber and forcing a grimace from him, when it made his shoulder sear with pain. With blood flowing freely now, from the shoulder, Harlock struggled to fight back; the effort made even more difficult, when his vision began to blur.

"No! Stop!" Alex shouted, from the sidelines; desperately trying to break up the fight, from where he stood. But Nevich wasn't listening, as he continued to furiously beat his way into the injured pirate. It was after a kick to the ribs and a punch to the face that Harlock finally felt himself snap; he charged into Nevich, throwing strong punches of his own, as he did so. Within moments, the two men were wrestling on the floor; enraged snarls being the only sounds from them, as they fought. Only very vaguely, did Harlock hear the sudden, alarmed thoughts of Lightningtooth at the back of his mind; having felt the all-consuming rage from his master, and wordlessly asking if he was needed at his side. Harlock never got the chance to respond, for, no sooner did he 'hear' Lightningtooth's voice, Alex tried to rush over to pull them apart, and only succeeded in opening his leg wound even further.

"Alex!!" Nevich yelped, when he'd heard the child cry out in pain and begin to fall, and he then got off of Harlock and sprinted to the boy's side; catching him before he could hit the floor, and shouting at his crew as he did that, "If the pirate so much as moves, kill him!"

"_Harlock! What's going on?! What have you gotten into, and how badly have you been hurt?!_" Lightningtooth asked, anxiously, his words finally getting through to his master's brain.

"_There isn't any time_….._to explain._" Harlock replied, as he watched Nevich closely from where he now kneeled; panting harshly for breath while vainly holding his bleeding shoulder, ignoring the blood that now flowed from his cut lip, as well.

"My debt to your crewmate spared you and your ship, pirate. I was even willing to allow you to limp back to whatever hole you hide in…..but things have changed. For attacking my son, you will die." Nevich snarled, furiously.

"You…..also should pay…..a heavier price…..for killing my son, Nevich….." Harlock replied, from between wheezes; his eye glowing with hatred as he spoke.

"You have a son, pirate?" Nevich asked, as something akin to surprise appeared in his angered gaze.

"Did have a son…..till you and this damned ship of yours'……murdered him….." Harlock growled back.

"Then you will soon be joining him." Nevich coldly said, as he then stood and began to carry Alex away from the scene of bloodshed. As the crew turned to watch their captain pull away from the center of the group, Harlock looked aside, saw his gravity saber lying just barely three feet away from him on the floor, and dove for it. He was rewarded for his desperation by three blasts tearing into his left shoulder and back, and excruciating pain.

"_HARLOCK!!_" Lightningtooth's voice howled, in anguish, before Harlock felt consciousness leave him, and he fell to the floor in a bloodied heap.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

It was the sounds of the rifles going off that made Young Harlock quicken his pace; his heart racing as he rounded another corner; not caring that the crew of the ship could see him……the foreboding feeling clawing at his insides becoming stronger the further he went. And it wasn't helped any, when Fang suddenly uttered a horrified howl, and almost fell on his face in mid-stride.

"Fang! What the hell…..?!" Young Harlock yelped, when he'd seen this happen. The wolf only shook his head vigorously and urged him on.

"Go! Your father needs you! I'll be right behind you! Go!" Fang shouted, urgently; his words making his master's heart almost freeze with fear, yet prompting him to take off down the hall at an even faster pace than before. He skidded to a halt, when he arrived in the hall where the fighting had been taking place, and felt his heart lodge itself in his throat when he saw his father's crumpled form on the floor……and the blood pouring from his wounds. Wordlessly, Young Harlock rushed to his side, and carefully picked him up. His father's scarred face was pale and smeared with blood.

"Dad…..Hang on…..Don't give up now!" Young Harlock said, fully aware that the captain and crew of the false _**DeathShadow**_ were staring at him in shock. And their shock was furthered, when something appeared behind Young Harlock……backing up even further from the two pirates when they saw that it was a huge black wolf!

"Oh….Eternal One…..his wounds are worse than I had thought!" Lightningtooth's voice worriedly whispered, as he looked over the younger pirate's shoulder at his master's far-too-pale features.

"Then back me up, Lightning. I'm going to try and get him to the sickbay and see if I can't get the bleeding stopped." Young Harlock growled, keeping his voice low, so those before him wouldn't hear.

"Right." Lightningtooth agreed, even though he was feeling his master's pain very strongly, at this point, his rage was giving him just enough energy to remain standing. Within seconds, Young Harlock was racing through the halls with his father in his arms; the adrenaline pumping through his system giving him the strength to carry the dying man as though he were nothing more than a child.

"_Not again! I'm not letting this happen again! No way in hell!_" Young Harlock's mind roared, as he charged past startled men and Illumidas alike, reminded too much of his own experiences as he struggled to save his father; running into the sickbay as though a demon were right behind him.

"What the…..?! Who the hell…..?!" one of the doctors asked, stunned when he saw what Young Harlock looked like, and then boldly approaching and taking a closer look at the wounded man he now carried in his arms.

"Get him onto that bed over there. We've got to get his bleeding under control." The doctor ordered, getting a nod from Young Harlock before he did just that.

"_Hang in there, Dad_….._Don't give up yet_……" Young Harlock silently pleaded, as he was pushed aside by a few more doctors and even a couple of nurses, and could only watch as they did what they could to save his father's life.

"Let me know when you need blood for the transfusion." Young Harlock heard himself say, numbly, as the weight of what had just happened finally settled on his shoulders, and as uncertainty began to claw at his heart.

"We will." One nurse promised, as she gently guided him to a chair, and had him sit down, before hurrying back to the elder Harlock's side.

"_Live, Dad. Please live._" Young Harlock silently added, as he began the tense wait to find out if his father even had a fighting chance of surviving this…..and as the wolves finally joined him for the vigil, since they hadn't had to fight, after all.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

All was silence, on the bridge of the _**Queen Emeraldas**_, as they arrived in the area where the _**DeathShadow**_ should have been, all of them becoming troubled when they didn't see the ship anywhere.

"They could have warped back to the Pirate Islands." Young Emeraldas suggested, hopefully.

"One can but hope." Lady Emeraldas agreed, even though she had a gut feeling that something catastrophic had occurred there, after they had left the day before.

"That's weird…..the space around here and in the area ahead of us has been twisted and ripped recently……It's either the effects of a major anomaly…..or the result of a mass warp by a fleet!" Tochiro muttered, as he gave the instruments before him a scrutinizing look.

"Rowena, have the surrounding area scanned thoroughly and monitor all of the communication bands." Lady Emeraldas commanded, and got an immediate compliance from the robotic crew.

"I don't like this…..I should never've let the _**DeathShadow**_ sail without me." Tochiro said, miserably; becoming even more worried for his friends as the minutes ticked by.

"Captain, the scans show a large debris field dead ahead." Rowena said, moments later.

"All stop! Put it on the visual." Lady Emeraldas said, and soon was looking at the debris itself; her jaw dropping when she realized what it was.

"These are the remains of Illumidas cruisers! But what are they doing back in this system?!" Lady Emeraldas mumbled, as she stared in disbelief at the destroyed ships.

"I dunno……but it looks like that's all that're here….They'd been destroyed by particle cannons, so that would indicate either the _**DeathShadow**_ or the _**Arcadia**_, at this point…..So they'd survived this battle…..though I have no idea where they'd be now." Tochiro murmured, with a tiny bit of relief in his voice, even though he was still disturbed by the _**DeathShadow**_'s sudden disappearance.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

On the bridge of the _**Arcadia**_, the crew was just beginning to get some response from the equipment there, for their return trip to the Pirate Islands. For the most part, solemn silence reigned. After they returned to the Pirate Islands, what then? What reason did they have to remain?

"Yattaran, I have been analyzing the methods used by Nevich to override the systems…..and what I have found is very strange. It's almost as though they had established a direct link with it!" La Miime said, as she showed the diminutive First Mate what she had found.

"Shit…..It's no wonder it had been so easy for 'em!" Yattaran muttered, in disbelief.

"_That__ is putting it mildly._" Tochiro Sr.'s voice growled, at the backs of their minds.

"Were you able to find anything out, Tochiro?" Yattaran asked, as a ghostly hologram appeared before them of the late engineer, and he nodded.

"_Yeah. The signals I'd picked up were identical to the ones the __**Arcadia**__ generates internally. Even the impulses were the same!_" Tochiro Sr. muttered; a bit angrily.

"But didn't you design and build the _**Arcadia**_'s system yourself?" another of the crew asked, bewildered by what this meant. Again, Tochiro Sr. nodded; adding a growl of irritation in, for good measure.

"_I did, but the original __**DeathShadow**__'s systems had been based around the standard Solar Federation designs_….._and so had the fake._" Tochiro Sr. stated, as even more confusion appeared on the faces of those nearest him.

"But that ship wasn't as it had been during the Illumidas War…..This is getting weirder and weirder……" Yattaran muttered, and La Miime and Tochiro Sr. could only agree.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Young Harlock didn't even look up, when he heard Nevich arrive and sit on the bed across from him. He smirked slightly when both wolves snarled softly under their breaths at the man, and then looked to his left at his father. The older man was very pale and weak; seeming to be almost a shadow of himself as he lay there. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his left shoulder and his chest; the wounds caused by the lasers hidden by them.

"_I hate seeing Dad like this_….." Young Harlock thought, grimly, as he fought the urge to sigh in hopelessness. Even with the blood he had given, the elder Harlock was still dangerously anemic.

"So, you are the space pirate's son, then? You favor him greatly." Nevich murmured, after a few more moments of uneasy silence.

"How would you know what Dad had looked like when he was young? Haven't you always been a Illumidas lapdog?" Young Harlock growled, in response; giving Nevich a hate-filled glare of his own. He got an indignant look from the older man in answer to his caustic words.

"I did what I had to, in order to keep my son safe……Even if it means serving the devil himself, I will do all I can to keep my son from witnessing any more death." Nevich said, seething at the younger pirate's accusation, since it dug so deeply into the old wounds deep within him. At this, he got a slight, bitter smirk from Young Harlock.

"You sound a bit like Zero…..but you have none of his honor. You attacked my ship and me without warning…..almost killed me and Fang in front of my crew…..almost murdered my father in the same way my mother had been murdered…..And you still have the gall to speak like my rival?" Young Harlock snarled; becoming angrier the longer he spoke, yet calming again when Lightningtooth carefully limped forward and placed his head in his lap. For a few moments, tense silence filled the room, further amplifying the sounds of their breathing, and the sounds the robot Hephaistion made as it stood there between the two beds.

"Almost forty years ago, now, I served as a captain in the Solar Federation. Your father and I were rivals, then……Even though we never said more than five words to each other during the war, we were rivals, nonetheless. At one point, he had been named the most fearless captain in the Federation…..and I was the most ruthless." Nevich admitted.

"I can see why." Fang mumbled, as he glanced at the elder Harlock and bristled again at what that ruthlessness had done to the man lying there.

"I remember. Harlock always used to tell me that he generally disliked your ideas for placing computers like the one you have on this vessel on the ships…..And always thought that, if we had somehow won the war, it would have turned war into a game." Lightningtooth added; remembering very clearly just how much it had disturbed the older pirate then, and how prophetic his words had turned out to be, after the Illumidas' sudden and mysterious retreat from earth.

"Despite what he thought, it would have been a timely thing, if it had been used then, since manpower had dwindled to dangerous levels by the middle of the war." Nevich argued, stubbornly; becoming vaguely annoyed when Young Harlock shook his head in disagreement.

"_Some people don't understand shit. That's the same mindset the Machine Men have, when things get too tight for __them__. Entire planets have been depopulated because of those bastards converting the people on them and using them as cannon fodder!_" Young Harlock silently growled, and sensed it when both wolves agreed with him.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

His body felt heavy, almost as though he had been tied from head to toe in iron chains, and fastened down on the bed he now lay on. Dull pain throbbed in his shoulder, back, and leg, yet his disoriented mind could only wonder how he'd been injured in the first place.

"_Have I been shot? If so, then who shot me? The Illumidas? The Mazone? Or was it maybe the Machine Men?_" Harlock wondered, foggily, as he tried to get his fragmented mind to put itself back together. Vaguely, he could hear what sounded like some people talking…..and one sounded angry.

"_Who could possibly be upset about what had happened to me? Unless_….._I have fallen into the future? Is this my youngest son speaking in my defense?_" Harlock silently asked, as he slowly opened his only eye, and tried to get a good look at the one who sounded so upset. From what he could tell, the young man was in his late twenties, had brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing what appeared to be a blue flightsuit that had obviously seen better days, judging from the bloodstains and rips he could barely see, thanks to his blurred vision.

"_He looks almost exactly like Young Harlock_….._but that can't be possible_……_He's dead_….._isn't he?_" Harlock again wondered, as doubt began to fill his heart, and hope began to be rekindled. He then summoned what remained of his strength, painfully lifted his left arm, reached out, and took hold of the younger man's left arm; his touch startling him into looking at him, and then smiling in honest joy and relief at him.

"Real……You're real…..not a ghost….." Harlock whispered, as some tears of relief appeared in his remaining eye, as the realization dawned on him that it truly was Young Harlock that was there with him.

"Yeah…..I'm real, Dad….." Young Harlock reassured; getting yet another relieved smile from his father for that.

"Good…..Glad I was wrong…..You weren't killed….." Harlock said, his voice getting a little stronger as he spoke.

"I'm too stubborn to die that easy, Dad. You should know that by now." Young Harlock stated, yet gave Fang a deadpan look when the younger wolf mumbled 'You wouldn't be here at all, if it weren't for my pulling your ass out of the fire.'.

"You've been hanging around Hiko too long, Fang." Young Harlock muttered, dryly.

"I'll have to agree with you, on that one." Lightningtooth agreed, with a sigh; inwardly glad that his master had awakened, and that it had lifted the younger man and wolf's spirits' enough to make them forget that their former enemy was still in the room with them.

"_But I can only wonder just what is about to happen next_….._and if the situation will get better or worse_….." Lightningtooth mused, as he watched Harlock and Young Harlock as they began explaining to one another just what had happened to each of them since the first attack, and what the next course of action should be……


	6. The Countdown to Battle Begins

Chapter Six: The Countdown to Battle Begins

Something was off. He could feel it keenly, as he wandered the city with his three guardians by his side. With barely-noticeable concern in his dark eyes, Hiko Seijuro restlessly patrolled Moonlight City's inner perimeter; having already done the same with Crystal City and Deep Cavern City.

"Hiko-san? Is something wrong?" one wolf asked, having sensed the unease in the ancient warrior's soul, and stopping to ask about it.

"I'm not even all that sure, myself. Something's happened……Those fools have gotten themselves into more trouble, no doubt." Hiko muttered, as he again focused on the distant feelings he had been picking up since the day before, and knew that they were coming from the captains of the _**DeathShadow**_ and the _**Arcadia**_, respectively.

"If that's the case, then shouldn't you ask the Great Leader if he can find out for you, what has happened?" the other wolf again asked; now becoming worried, as well, when he also sensed a hint of what the warrior had picked up on.

"_We were hoping it wouldn't come to that_……_but it seems there isn't much of a choice, now. Trying to find the answers on our own has basically gotten us nowhere._" Kagemaru said, as he looked up at the white-mantled man and gave him a grave look.

"Let's just hope the Great Leader has the answers we're seeking, then." Hiko murmured, with a resigned sigh, then looked back at Gemini and Winter, "And hope that his sight hasn't been blocked, as it has been on a few previous occasions."

"No arguments there." Gemini agreed, as the Hiten master jumped into Kagemaru's back, and the great cat took off; with both wolves following shortly after them, in the forms of eagles.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Those who had been left on the Pirate Islands could only feel numbed by the sight of the crippled _**DeathShadow**_, as it finally arrived in its' berth; a few rushing to it's side as soon as it had stopped, to see if they could be of any help to the crew.

"Oh God…..What could have done this?" Marian whispered, as she took in the awful sight, and then turned and saw the _**Atlantis**_ return to its' dock, as well.

"No clue…..though it sure looks like the _**DeathShadow**_'s crew knows only too well….." one of the men near her murmured, as they watched the men emerge from within the battered ship, and begin repairs.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

It was with notable reluctance, that Young Harlock left his father's side to go to the false _**DeathShadow**_'s bridge. The older man had fallen into exhausted slumber again; leaving him with the chance to go and try to make contact with either the _**Atlantis**_ or the _**Queen Emeraldas**_, knowing now that the _**Arcadia**_ was in no shape to retrieve them, even if it came to that.

"_Have you activated the tracer yet, Harlock?_" Fang asked, as he worriedly stuck close to Young Harlock's side.

"_I did that as soon as I woke up the second time_……_They should've picked up on it and responded, by now_….." Young Harlock replied, worriedly; not even bothering to hide the real fear he had for his father's life from the wolf beside him.

"_So you think, maybe, this ship could be cancelling it out, somehow?_" Fang again asked, as some alarm began to emerge, once he'd realized this, and a sinking feeling began to settle in his gut.

"_I think so._" Young Harlock said, grimly, as they arrived on the bridge; tamping down on the urge to snarl, when they laid eyes on Nevich again.

"Make sure your damned computer doesn't take any notes." Young Harlock said, as he approached the communications console and started adjusting the frequency. He only got a slight nod from Nevich as an answer, before he focused solely on calling out to his friends and allies.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Tochiro allowed himself a relieved grin, when a familiar voice started coming through the _**Queen Emeraldas**_' communications system.

"Harlock! What the hell happened out here?! Where the hell are you?!" Tochiro responded, when he was sure that his friend could hear him.

"Long story, my friend……and it might take an even longer time to tell." Young Harlock's voice replied; sounding as relieved as Tochiro now felt.

"Are you all right?" Lady Emeraldas asked, concernedly, when she had also heard the younger pirate's voice.

"Aside from some bruised ribs, I'm fine…..but Dad isn't." Young Harlock said, as the worry re-emerged in his tone again. At this, Lady Emeraldas, Young Emeraldas, and Tochiro all froze; just what exactly had happened while they had been away?!

"Where are you?" Lady Emeraldas asked, knowing now that time may not be on their side.

"The ship I'm on is in the asteroid field near the _**Discoverer**_. Better make sure the _**Queen Emeraldas**_' sickbay is ready." Young Harlock replied, wearily.

"All right. Just tell him to hang on, okay?" Lady Emeraldas said, as overwhelming concern appeared for her friend, as well.

"Will do. Over and out." Young Harlock answered, before the line went silent again.

"He must be on a military ship of some kind….." Tochiro muttered, a few moments later.

"Why do you say that?" Lady Emeraldas asked.

"He doesn't usually finish a conversation over a line like that…..He must've gotten himself into some pretty deep shit, this time." Tochiro said, as he started to try and follow the transmission to its' source.

"And he wouldn't say something like that if he were on the _**Karyu**_, either….." Young Emeraldas added, concernedly.

"Then let's find out why he was being so careful, shall we?" Lady Emeraldas asked, as she then nodded to the robot crew, and they put more power into the engines and hurried to where the signal's source was…..hoping that they would get there in time.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"At least the _**Queen Emeraldas**_ was in range." Fang murmured, when the conversation had ended, and Young Harlock stepped away from the console again.

"Yeah…..and we can only hope that this ship doesn't tear them apart like the _**Arcadia**_ and real _**DeathShadow**_ had been." Young Harlock growled, as he gave Nevich a warning look, in addition to the unspoken threat in his eyes, if he did attack the pirate vessel.

"I have my honor, pirate, and I have already promised that I won't attack. Wasn't that enough?" Nevich asked, peevishly.

"I trust your honor about as much as I trust Darghund's goodwill." Young Harlock retorted, before leaving the bridge altogether; heading back to the sickbay so he could get his father ready to leave.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Alex awoke to the feeling of numbness in his leg, and slight confusion, as he looked up at the ceiling of the sickbay.

"_How'd I end up here?_" Alex wondered, confusedly.

"Your father brought you here, after everything had calmed down somewhat." A voice from beside him replied, making him jump slightly, and turn his head to see who it was that had spoken. To his added shock, there sat another wolf!

"_Compared to Fang, this guy's huge! Where'd he come from?! And how'd he get on board?!_" Alex wondered, as he carefully sat up and fearlessly reached out; grinning when the larger wolf allowed him to scratch his ears.

"In case you're wondering, I'm Fang's father, Lightningtooth." The larger wolf explained; seeming to have picked Alex's thoughts from the air, as he thought them.

"How d'you keep doing that? Are ya reading my mind, or something?" Alex asked, wonderingly; his childish curiosity making him forget about the injury that had put him in sickbay to begin with.

"You could say that, young one. My people are able to communicate through mind-speaking, as well as normal speech." Lightningtooth replied.

"Cool." Alex muttered, sounding impressed by what the wolves were able to do. It was then that he realized that the bed next to his was occupied, as well; feeling some alarm when he saw Harlock lying there.

"Is he all right?" Alex then asked, pointing out the still man as he did so.

"I can't say for certain, right now. His injuries seem pretty severe, this time around." Lightningtooth murmured, honestly.

"I hope he doesn't die……There's too many ghosts around my dad now." Alex said, shivering slightly as he said that.

"Ghosts? What do you mean?" Lightningtooth asked, as he approached the side of Alex's bed and propped his top half on it, so he could be at eye level with the boy. Alex nodded.

"They're th' ghosts of people who've died since Dad became captain of this ship…..and some are even from before then…..The most recent one…..was from a fighter that'd flown out of Phantom's dad's ship and got blown up…..I felt it happen…..and saw it when the pilot's ghost joined the others….." Alex murmured; his words sending a chill down Lightningtooth's back, when he realized just what exactly the boy was talking about.

"_The Phoenix Experiment_……_The boy's father must have been involved in it, and it got passed down to him through the blood! Damn!_" Lightningtooth inwardly cursed, the dislike he had for Nevich, and the pity he felt for Alex, growing with every moment that passed.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"Shit! I don't believe this!" Tochiro yelped, when he laid eyes on the ship that waited for them, in the asteroid field.

"_**DeathShadow**_?! But it can't be! This is the way it had looked, before you had rebuilt it, Tochiro!" Young Emeraldas added, as Lady Emeraldas directed an almost spooked look at the vessel, as well.

"Their shields are raised, Captain." Rowena said, to both women.

"Then raise ours and bring cannons to bear. Send red signals to all hands." Lady Emeraldas commanded, then added, "The Illumidas must have rebuilt that…..I don't like this at all."

"I don't either, Mom…..Not in the slightest." Tochiro murmured; knowing now that Young Harlock had had a very good reason to warn them the way he had.

"_Just what the hell happened? And how badly has his father been hurt?_" Tochiro wondered; hoping that things weren't about to get ugly between them and the unknown ship.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

When Young Harlock and Fang reached the sickbay, they were surprised and a bit relieved to see that Alex had awakened, yet still dismayed when they saw how bad the elder Harlock looked.

"Hey kid. How's the leg?" Young Harlock greeted, as he came and sat down across from him.

"It feels weird. It doesn't hurt, but I can't feel it, either." Alex replied, disgruntled by this, to say the least.

"I'd imagine that would be the painkillers at work." Fang said, knowingly; remembering only too well a few of the occasions when Young Harlock would get himself into situations where painkillers had been necessary…..and how much he'd hated them.

"Guess so…..Were you able to get through to your friends, Phantom?" Alex asked, worriedly. Young Harlock nodded.

"But I still don't know where _**DeathShadow**_ has gotten to…..I hope they were able to get back to base all right." Young Harlock sighed, as he rubbed his forehead in vague irritation, "As it is, it'll take months to get her back into fighting shape again."

"And the _**Arcadia**_ might not be in any better condition. We might have to depend on Falko more than ever, until both ships are back up and running." Lightningtooth agreed, with a sigh, "Your father isn't going to like that, at all."

"Damn straight." Young Harlock muttered, as he gazed at his father's strangely still features; only hoping, at this point, that he would even live to see his ship restored to full power again.

"The _**Queen Emeraldas**_ has arrived, pirate. Get ready to go." Nevich commanded, via intercom…..and got an offensive gesture from Young Harlock for that.

"Up yours'." Young Harlock growled, his comment getting a snicker from Alex, despite himself, as he stood and carefully started to lift his father into his arms again.

"You sure you should be doing that?" a familiar voice then asked, startling Young Harlock into turning and looking at the speaker in shock. Then Young Harlock calmed again and smirked.

"Moving Dad, or giving somebody the finger?" Young Harlock asked, in turn.

"I would say both." One of the wolves beside the other man muttered, as the man moved forward and carefully took Harlock from the younger man.

"Impressionable minds aside….." Lightningtooth began to say, as he nodded to Alex, and then looked up at the imposing warrior before him, "How did you know to come here, Hiko?"

"The feeling that this fool has gotten himself into trouble, and the fact that the Great Leader wasn't able to discern as much as he should have, was what prompted this decision." Hiko replied, coolly, then glanced at Young Harlock again with narrowed eyes that seemed to have a hint of concern in them, as well, "And the son of the fool isn't in the shape to fight, either."

"His ribs…..I had forgotten about them!" Fang yelped, as he looked up at his master, worryingly.

"I'm fine. Just worry about Dad's injuries." Young Harlock said, and got a nod of approval from Hiko for his words.

"Are you sure?" Gemini asked, concernedly, as she watched Hiko wrap what was left of Harlock's cloak around the older pirate's body, and also looked up at Young Harlock for an answer.

"I'll be fine. Compared to Dad's wounds, my cracked ribs are nothing. If anything, we'll probably need Black Jack's help, in order to keep him alive till my brother is born." Young Harlock responded, noticing when the wolves and great cat reacted to another gate opening nearby, and when Young Emeraldas and Maya arrived.

"Perfect timing. Keep your gate open, since we're going to need it." Hiko said, knowing that all three of his guardians were exhausted from having to transport themselves and their master so far away from Luviji, to a ship they had never been on before.

"Right….." Young Emeraldas murmured; subdued by the way Harlock now looked, and remaining silent until they had returned to the _**Queen Emeraldas**_ and gotten the elder pirate captain settled in the sickbay there.


	7. Of Destiny and Hope

Chapter Seven: Of Destiny and Hope

Lady Emeraldas and Tochiro Jr. could only watch as the gate opened, and Young Emeraldas and Maya returned with Young Harlock, Fang, Lightningtooth, Winter, Kagemaru, Gemini, and Hiko striding through it behind them. Yet it was the sight of the elder Harlock that made Lady Emeraldas' mouth go dry; his face was extremely pale, and what she could see of the bandages on his left shoulder were bloodstained.

"_Oh, my friend_….._what the hell have they done to you?_" Lady Emeraldas wondered, as she silently approached and placed a hand gingerly on Harlock's face.

"His ki is weak, but steady. He'll be all right, once he gets the proper care." Hiko murmured; sensing how troubled Lady Emeraldas was at the sight, and trying to reassure her as best as he knew how. She could only nod in agreement to that, and then motioned for him to follow her towards the sickbay.

"Have you made it to the _**Queen Emeraldas**_ yet, space pirates?" Nevich asked, over the comm.

"Yes." Young Harlock replied, coolly.

"Good. I now regret my attacks on your ships…..and I hope that we will meet again under better circumstances." Nevich said, quietly.

"_Not likely._" Young Harlock silently growled, yet said nothing out loud in response to that; instead, choosing to wordlessly follow Lady Emeraldas and Hiko to the sickbay, so he could watch over his father from there.

"Harlock, should we follow?" Tochiro asked, as he watched his friend enter the hallway.

"No." Young Harlock replied; his expression darkening as he went, "But I need to have a word with you later…..I think we need to go back to Surimatake Cluster….."

"Surimatake……That's where our _**Arcadia**_ is!" Tochiro yelped, and was stunned by what his friend said next.

"It might be time to finish it…..and then hand Nevich his ass." Young Harlock growled; his desire for revenge growing as he said that.

"_But what can I do or say that'll stop him? He should know by now that vengeance won't do anyone any good!_" Tochiro thought, in dismay, as he watched his friend disappear completely down the hallway.

"_Sometimes, Tochiro, the heart gets in the way of what the mind knows is right or wrong. He's too worried and upset about his father, right now, to even listen to you if you tried to talk him out of it. Right now, it might be best to let him be. Maybe after Harlock recovers, then you can talk to him about this again._" Lightningtooth silently said, in reassurance, as he placed his head against Tochiro Jr.'s back to help brace him from the full impact of Young Harlock's words.

"_I hope you're right, Lightningtooth_….._I just don't want to see my friend turn into another Darghund_……" Tochiro mentally sighed, sadly.

"_He won't. And I'll make sure Harlock doesn't die, in the meantime. Just have faith in that, Tochiro._" Lightningtooth encouraged, before limping off in the same direction his master had been carried in; feeling some gratitude towards his son and Gemini, when they got on either side of him and helped him walk.

"I'm going back to Luviji…..We might still need Snowtail's help, before we reach the Pirate Islands." Winter said, calmly.

"Are you sure you can do that, so soon, Winter? That combined gate had taken a lot out of you, Kagemaru and Gemini." Lightningtooth said, concernedly, as he briefly looked over his shoulder at the silvery-white wolf. At this, he got a grim smile.

"At this point, Harlock's life matters more than my own. Besides, if it weren't for your master, I would never have found my master……so I have that much of a debt to repay." Winter replied, boldly.

"Go ahead and do so, then. I don't think there is anything I can say to convince you otherwise." Lightningtooth said, with a resigned sigh, yet felt grateful for the ancient wolf's stubbornness, all the same.

"_Just don't overtax yourself, soul brother. Return to Luviji, tell Snowtail-san that her powers as a Death Healer and maybe those of one of her Life-Healer friends are desperately needed, and then stay there. Don't try to come back here, until you have rested._" Kagemaru growled, worriedly. This got a nod and another smile from Winter as a response, before he opened his gate and leaped through it; hurrying on his way so he could relay the message to the healers about what needed to be done for the pirate clan's current leader. They all could only hope that it wouldn't be too little, too late.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Falko awoke from troubled slumber with a start, when the comm-link in his cabin beeped.

"Falko, here. Go ahead." Falko said, prompting whoever was on the other end to start talking.

"It's begun." Was all the voice on the other end said; those two words sending a jolt of adrenaline through Falko's body…..and it meant only one thing.

"_Marian's in labor. Damn._" Falko silently cursed, before he stood, donned his cloak again, and then rushed out of his cabin at top speed. Ever since the _**DeathShadow**_'s return, hours earlier, Marian had acted strangely. And now he knew why.

"_Damn it, Harlock, where the hell are you?_" Falko thought, anxiously, as he raced down the _**Atlantis**_' hallways, stopped just long enough to open the hatch, and then continued his sprint in the direction of the room where Marian was now giving birth; determined to be there to lend moral support, if nothing else.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

With a swiftness that could only be attributed to desperation, Winter ran as fast as his paws could carry him; at times even shifting forms into that of a cheetah, so he could get to Crystal City with time to spare. Newly-fallen snow flew wildly about, as he charged through the empty streets; the sound of his claws scratching on the ice awakening a few of the inhabitants from sound slumber.

"Winter-san! What in the world has brought you here in such a state?!" a feminine voice called, as its' owner appeared before him.

"Need…..to find…..Snowtail…..Harlock…..needs her help…." Winter panted, as he reverted to his wolf form to speak; his words causing alarm to fill the other wolf's heart.

"This way! Follow me!" the wolf cried, as she then turned on her heel and rushed in the opposite direction; fully understanding, now, the desperation that had spurred the ancient wolf into his mad dash through the streets…..and hoping they would reach her in time.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

At about the same time, Kagemaru was returning to his master's side, and finding a sight that brought some reassurance to his worried spirit.

"_Looks as though the son has finally decided to rest for a while._" Kagemaru commented, as he entered the sickbay, and spotted Young Harlock lying on one of the beds, in deep slumber.

"_Though it wasn't without some reservations against doing so. His own injuries have caught up with him._" Hiko replied, from his seat in a corner of the room; keeping a close watch over the father and son of the Harlock clan, and the two wolves who watched over them, as well.

"_Cracked ribs are nothing to joke about or take lightly_….._as you know only too well._" Kagemaru agreed, remembering keenly the pain Hiko himself had gone through, after he had passed the ougi on to Kenshin hundreds of years before.

"_Indeed. So, how close are we now, to the Pirate Islands?_" Hiko asked, as the great cat came and sat down in front of him.

"_We're about twenty minutes away, now. The __**Arcadia**__ has also been sighted_……_but it is in bad shape._" Kagemaru replied, then added, "_It looks worse than even Tochiro had thought it would._"

"_I thought as much._" Hiko silently muttered, knowing that the sorrow and horror he'd sensed earlier had mainly been that of Tochiro.

"_Has Black Jack been called, yet?_" Lightningtooth asked, as he looked up at them; his blue eyes distinctly worried.

"_Someone had alerted him to what is going on_……_and he has Snowtail and a wolf named Rainfall along with him and Rook._" Kagemaru replied, his words getting a sigh of relief from Lightningtooth for a response.

"_Good. Harlock now has a better chance of surviving than he has had in hours. Let's just hope Black Jack is able to do something for him._" Lightningtooth silently said; turning to look when Lady Emeraldas entered the sickbay.

"How are they doing, Hiko?" Lady Emeraldas asked, concernedly.

"About as well as can be expected. The father seems to be holding on, and the son seems to be getting some sleep. How are you holding up?" Hiko asked, surprising Lady Emeraldas with his concern for her.

"I'm all right…..It's just that I am hoping I won't see another loved one die like this. Losing my husband had been bad enough." Lady Emeraldas said, with a sigh; watching as Hiko then stood, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"With as many allies and friends hoping for his survival as he has, Harlock should be able to find the strength he needs to continue living. Don't give up hope yet." Hiko said, sternly; getting a nod from Lady Emeraldas as a response to those words.

"You always seem to have the right words to say, in situations like this." Lady Emeraldas murmured, after a few moments of thoughtful silence. Hiko only shrugged in response to that, and then gave her a wry smirk.

"The Baka Deshi would have had plenty to say to the contrary, if he had been here to hear you say that." Hiko jokingly stated, and as an honest smile appeared on Lady Emeraldas' face, at that.

"I'm sure he would." Lady Emeraldas agreed, then said, "I came down to let you know that we're docking now, in case you're wondering."

"Might as well wake the son, then….." Hiko said, as he watched Lady Emeraldas carefully place a hand on Young Harlock's scarred face; rousing him from slumber after a few moments.

"Hn? What? Have we made it…..?" Young Harlock asked, drowsily; wincing slightly when any move he made sent stabs of pain through his ribcage.

"Yes. Better get ready to disembark." Lady Emeraldas said, gently; feeling her heart clench slightly, when he slowly sat up, and the grimace that briefly appeared on his face, as he did so.

"I wonder how pissed off my crew is going to be?" Young Harlock muttered, as he got to his feet, and watched as Hiko carefully lifted his father from the bed; taking as much care as possible not to jostle the elder pirate's wounded shoulder in the process.

"There's no way of knowing…..but you'd better hope that no one decides to keelhaul you before you can get some words in, edgewise." Fang mumbled, as he also roused up and glanced at his master, as well.

"No shit about that." Young Harlock agreed, before they quickly made their way out of the _**Queen Emeraldas**_' sickbay, and towards the hatch that led out. They never even realized just what kind of stir their presences would cause…..but they were soon going to find out……

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

It was the first cry of shock and disbelief that brought Falko back to the docking area; drawing him away from the hall where he had been waiting for news about Marian, and inexplicably towards a sight that even almost made him cry with relief. In front of him, now docked alongside the severely damaged _**Arcadia**_ and _**DeathShadow**_, sat the _**Queen Emeraldas**_…..and in front of her, surrounded by his overwhelmed crew, stood Young Harlock. The younger man looked the worse for wear, but he was alive!

"You must have one hell of a guardian angel, cousin, to have survived what your crew had described to us, earlier!" Falko said, grinning as he approached, and gave the younger captain a firm handshake; reassuring himself that he wasn't seeing a ghost, just then.

"If guardian angels can have black fur, blue eyes and paws, Falko, then I've got one of the best!" Young Harlock replied, with a smile of his own; even snickering when Fang grumbled under his breath 'Just don't go changing my name to that, please', and then directed an almost dirty look at him for that.

"Where is your father? Is he all right?" Falko asked, concernedly; his worry growing, when Young Harlock's expression fell.

"Hiko's taken him to the sickbay here…….But Dad's in bad shape, Falko." Young Harlock replied, grimly, as he looked in the direction the swordmaster had gone in; having located Black Jack's presence arriving on the Pirate Islands, and wasting no time getting the injured pirate to the renegade surgeon's care.

"Damn……And the situation isn't made any better by the fact that Marian's in labor now….." Falko muttered, disparagingly.

"Yeah. It's just gone from bad to worse in a heartbeat." Young Harlock growled; cursing the bad timing of his brother's birth, and his father's current fight for life…..and knowing without even needing to be told that Darghund would be laughing his ass off at them, if he had known.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

As the hours slowly dragged on, all of the pirates and their allies waited anxiously for news. Faintly, they could hear Marian's screams of pain as she struggled to give birth; shuddering in sympathy at the agonized note in her voice. On the same token, only tense silence hovered around the room where Black Jack was operating on the elder Harlock; putting his skills to the test, in an effort to keep the captain alive. The single thought that now crossed their minds was, would they make it? Would there be a new life, and would one they have known for so long, be restored? Or would they lose them both? Almost in answer to their anxious, unspoken questions, the sound they had been waiting so long to hear finally came to their ears……the sound of a baby screaming his head off.

"It's a boy!" Arashi's voice cheerfully shouted, as she stuck her head out of the room and grinned at them; getting cheers and sighs of relief from the pirates for that. Then, seconds later, Black Jack emerged from the operating room. As the mixed group before him settled down again, and got quiet, the mercenary surgeon slowly removed his bloodied gloves and surgical mask, looked up, and smiled.

"He'll pull through." Black Jack said, his words causing yet another round of cheers and even some relieved tears (especially from the crew of the _**Arcadia**_) in answer to that.

"Good……and it seems that Leetah, Cutter, Skywise, Redlance and Nightfall have just arrived, as well…..Harlock will soon be well enough to see his newborn son." Lightningtooth murmured, sighing in relief when he felt the effects of healing magic reach him; the combined efforts of the elven healer and the two wolf healers soothing the shared pain, and healing what remained of the wounds.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Marian looked up, when she heard the door to her room open; barely managing to stifle a cry when she saw who it was that had entered.

"Y-young Harlock!" Marian stammered, as stunned and overjoyed tears suddenly started flowing down her face; her relief overwhelming her, as he quietly approached and sat down in the chair beside her bed.

"I'm really here, Mom." Young Harlock said, softly, keeping his voice down, since his little brother was slumbering in Marian's arms.

"It's such a relief to know that…..We should've had more faith in you." Marian whispered, tearfully, as she freed one of her arms, and placed the hand to the young man's face; reassuring herself that he was real, and not a ghost. At this, she got a rueful smirk.

"Maybe……yet, then again, maybe not. If it hadn't been for Fang's quick thinking, I wouldn't even be here." Young Harlock murmured, honestly; his smile softening when the baby in Marian's arm started to rouse up.

"And I have said the same, of Lightning, from time to time….." another voice murmured, as its' owner limped into view, with the mentioned wolves on either side of him; determined to support him, in case he fell.

"Good God, Harlock……what the hell happened?" Marian asked, concernedly and with a hint of anger in her tone, as Young Harlock vacated the chair, and stood aside so his father could sit down.

"You don't want to know." Harlock muttered, as he wearily sat down; giving Young Harlock a nod of thanks, when the younger man offered him a glass of brandy as well.

"You look awful." Marian said, bluntly; getting a flinch from Harlock, for those words.

"Yet this is the best I've felt in hours…..Being shot at point-blank range isn't exactly an easy thing to live through." Harlock admitted; hinting at the ordeal that had nearly taken his life, before taking a sip of the strong liquor and putting the glass aside.

"…..I see….." Marian whispered, now realizing just how close she had come to becoming a widow, and letting the subject drop.

"Would you like to hold your son?" Marian asked, after a few moments; seeming relieved when Harlock nodded and allowed an unreadable smile to appear on his features.

"I'd like nothing better." Harlock replied, as he carefully took the baby into his arms, and gazed at the face of the child he hadn't honestly thought he'd ever see. Lightningtooth grinned, when he sensed his master's quiet joy over seeing the newborn; and allowed relief to fill him, when he felt the residual hatred of Nevich in Young Harlock's heart fade away, only to be replaced with an elder brother's pride and the strong desire to protect.

"What is his name, Marian?" Harlock asked, his voice even softer than before. Marian gave him a warm smile.

"His name is Franklin Harlock III……though I suppose he'll prefer to be called 'Frank' later on." Marian said, in response.

"Then welcome to the family, Frank. It's good to finally meet you." Young Harlock murmured, as he reached over and gently took his younger brother's tiny hand in his, and shook it; grinning when the baby's hand gripped his forefinger as tightly as it could.

"And I hope you'll allow us to meet him, as well." Falko's voice said, as he and Fritz entered the room; smiling as well, when they saw the 'handshake' between the two brothers.

"You're the boy's uncle, Falko." Harlock said, as he stood and handed Frank back to Marian, watching as they approached and greeted the newest member of the family, as well.

"And I'm his cousin, then, right?" Fritz asked; beaming when Harlock gave him a firm nod.

"Right." Harlock agreed; looking aside when Lightningtooth perked up, and an elated smile appeared on the wolf's face.

"I'm a father again!" Lightningtooth said, before quickly opening a gate and preparing to jump through it, "Sorry I can't stay, everyone, but I need to get to Angel's side right now!"

"Go on, then. I've held you up here long enough, old friend." Harlock stated, warmly; chuckling when the scarred wolf took a flying leap through the opened gate, and almost tripped over a tree root as soon as he was on the other side.

"Guess I'd better go and visit Mom too." Fang said, before rushing off as well; as eager to meet his new siblings as his father was.

"Hope you're able to keep your dad out of trouble, Fang." Young Harlock muttered; fully aware when Harlock gave him a dry look in response.

"I hope so too…..Though it might be easier said than done!" Fang mumbled, in agreement, before running through his own gate, and taking off after his sire. And yet, even though the day had ended without the loss of both pirate captains, the shadow of war still lingered over them. In the days to come, would they be able to hold back the threat that loomed in the distance? Or would the earth fall to old enemies again? Only time would tell……and even it could be a fickle thing, indeed.

_**Owari**_

_**Or is it?**_

_**Author's Note!**_

_**Sorry for the wild ride and strange ending, minna, but this leads into an RPG on Ligthingtooth's site called 'Zero Time Trouble'. Of course, where THAT will lead, is anyone's guess, at this point! Hope this was all right, and please review!**_

_**Gemini14**_


End file.
